Revise these paragraphs using compound and complex sentences.
Paragraph 1: It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was high. The trees waved and crashed against the barn. I looked around me and saw that I wasn’t alone. A man stood behind me. He was tall. He was mean. He had a knife. It was shining in the moonlight. It was long and slender. He reached back. He stabbed with it. I jumped out of the way. I ran away.
It was a dark and stormy night, the wind was heavy as the trees crashed against the barn. As I looked around, I realized that i was not alone. A man was standing behind me, he was tall, he held a long and slender knife as it glittered in the moonlight. He reached back and attempted to stab me as I jumped out of the way and fled.
Paragraph 2: Tom prefers baseball to basketball. Baseball seems more interesting to Tom. Tom feels baseball is a gentleman’s sport. Baseball is more structured than basketball. Baseball requires athletes to use more skill than aggression when playing. Tom respects baseball players the most because of this.
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Exercise #2
Combine each set of short sentences and fragments into one sentence.
1. I always order cheese fries. The reason why is because they're my favorite.
2. Bob was my boyfriend. That was in high school. We dated for about eight months. Before I met Mike.
3. The tree fell on the house. This was a sycamore. Because of the high winds. But my grandmother wasn't hurt.
4. My dog's name is George. He is a Golden Retriever. He loves to play Frisbee. Loves to swim, too.
5. My parents gave me a car. That is why I'm able to afford to go to college. Still, I work part-time. I work at Wal-Mart. I'm a cashier. Combine these six pairs of sentences using the coordinating conjunctions listed below. Use each conjunction only one time. and, but, or, so, yet, nor
6. Some students stay on the sidewalks. Some students cut across the grass.
7. Students have to park far from their classrooms. They are often late for class.
8. Trash cans have been placed all over campus. Students still throw garbage on the ground.
9. The administration promised to improve dining hall service. The quality of the food is actually worse this year.
10. These students do not respect the feelings of others. They don't seem to respect themselves.
11. We must stand up for our rights today. We may find ourselves with no rights at all.
Combine the same sentences above using the subordinating conjunctions listed below. Again, use each conjunction only one time. unless, because, even though, while, although, though
12. Some students stay on the sidewalks. Some students cut across the grass.
13. Students have to park far from their classrooms. They are often late for class.
14. Trash cans have been placed all over campus. Students still throw garbage on the ground.
15. The administration promised to improve dining hall service. The quality of the food is actually worse this year.
16. These students do not respect the feelings of others. They do seem to respect themselves.
17.We must stand up for our rights today. We may find ourselves with no rights at all.
Exercise #3
Make a single sentence from each of the groups of sentences below.
You must include all of the information which is given, but you may change the form of any word or the arrangement of the sentences. You should delete redundant words or phrases, and you may add prepositions and conjunctions.
"Example":
l. The students were diligent.
2. The students followed their professor's instructions and carried out the lab.
3. The students wrote in their journals about their summer vacations.
4. The students wrote a spelling test every day before the exam.
"Single sentence": Diligently following their professor's instructions, the students wrote in their journals every day.
"Exercises":
A. l. We caught two bass.
2. We hauled them in briskly.
3. We hauled them in as though they were mackerel.
4. We pulled them over the side of the boat.
5. We did not use a landing net.
6. Our manner was businesslike.
7. We stunned them with a blow on the back of the head.
-- E.B. White
B. l. The doctor's eye roved across the landscape.
2. His eye detected a figure.
3. His eye was quick.
4. The figure was in black.
5. The figure passed through the gate.
6. The gate led to the field.
7. The gate led down toward the pond.
--D.H. Lawrence
C. l. Mrs. Lang saw herself as a counselor.
2. Mrs. Lang saw herself as wise and helpful.
3. She appeared on her neighbor's doorstep.
4. She appeared at the first hint of trouble.
5. She was armed with a treasure-trove of cliches.
6. She was armed with a repertory of sad looks.
7. She was armed with a jar of fig preserves.
D. l. Two men dozed.
2. The two men were young.
3. The two men were in the class.
4. They succumbed to fatigue.
5. They succumbed to boredom. 6. They succumbed to the stuffiness of the classroom.
7. The classroom was crowded.
8. They barely heard the voice of the instructor.
9. The instructor detailed with enthusiasm.
10. The instructor detailed the horrors of the Black Death.
E. l. There is a spider.
2. The spider is bulbous at the abdomen.
3. The spider is drab in color.
4. The spider is in the bathroom.
5. The spider has a web.
6. The web is six inches in diameter.
7. The web is in the corner.
8. The corner is behind the toilet.
9. The web is torn.
10. An earwig is trapped in the web.
11. Corpses are on the floor beneath the web.
12. The corpses are the spider's kill.
13. Most of the corpses are sow bugs.
14. Three of the corpses are spiders.
15. Two of the corpses are moths.
16. The moths' corpses are wingless.
-- Annie Dillard
F. l. He ran upstairs.
2. He took blankets from a bed.
3. He put blankets before the fire.
4. The blankets were warm.
5. Then he removed her clothing.
6. Her clothing was saturated.
7. Her clothing was earthy-smelling.
8. He rubbed her leg.
9. He rubbed her with a towel.
10. He wrapped her in the blanket.
11. She was naked.
-- D.H. Lawrence
G l. Then he motioned.
2. He motioned to the driver.
3. The driver was to go on.
4. The car moved slowly.
5. The car moved along.
6. The driver avoided holes.
7. The holes had been made by wart hogs.
8. The driver drove around the mud castles.
9. The mud castles had been built by ants.
-- Ernest Hemingway
H. l. Corporal Max Klinger is a character on "M.A.S.H."
2. "M.A.S.H." is a television series.
3. "M.A.S.H." is popular.
4. Corporal Klinger is aptly named.
5. He is named for a playwright.
6. The playwright is Maximilian Klinger.
7. Maximilian Klinger was a German.
8. Maximilian Klinger lived in the eighteenth century.
9. Maximilian Klinger wrote a play.
10. His play was entitled "Sturm und Drang."
11. "Sturm und Drang" means "Storm and Stress."
12. "Sturm und Drang" became the name of a movement.
13. The movement was literary.
14. The movement was "avant-garde."
Exercise #1
Revise these paragraphs using compound and complex sentences.
Paragraph 1: It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was high. The trees waved and crashed against the barn. I looked around me and saw that I wasn’t alone. A man stood behind me. He was tall. He was mean. He had a knife. It was shining in the moonlight. It was long and slender. He reached back. He stabbed with it. I jumped out of the way. I ran away.
It was a dark and stormy night, the wind was heavy as the trees crashed against the barn. As I looked around, I realized that i was not alone. A man was standing behind me, he was tall, he held a long and slender knife as it glittered in the moonlight. He reached back and attempted to stab me as I jumped out of the way and fled.
Paragraph 2: Tom prefers baseball to basketball. Baseball seems more interesting to Tom. Tom feels baseball is a gentleman’s sport. Baseball is more structured than basketball. Baseball requires athletes to use more skill than aggression when playing. Tom respects baseball players the most because of this.
-
Exercise #2
Combine each set of short sentences and fragments into one sentence.1. I always order cheese fries. The reason why is because they're my favorite.
2. Bob was my boyfriend. That was in high school. We dated for about eight months. Before I met Mike.
3. The tree fell on the house. This was a sycamore. Because of the high winds. But my grandmother wasn't hurt.
4. My dog's name is George. He is a Golden Retriever. He loves to play Frisbee. Loves to swim, too.
5. My parents gave me a car. That is why I'm able to afford to go to college. Still, I work part-time. I work at Wal-Mart. I'm a cashier.
Combine these six pairs of sentences using the coordinating conjunctions listed below. Use each conjunction only one time.
and, but, or, so, yet, nor
6. Some students stay on the sidewalks. Some students cut across the grass.
7. Students have to park far from their classrooms. They are often late for class.
8. Trash cans have been placed all over campus. Students still throw garbage on the ground.
9. The administration promised to improve dining hall service. The quality of the food is actually worse this year.
10. These students do not respect the feelings of others. They don't seem to respect themselves.
11. We must stand up for our rights today. We may find ourselves with no rights at all.
Combine the same sentences above using the subordinating conjunctions listed below. Again, use each conjunction only one time.
unless, because, even though, while, although, though
12. Some students stay on the sidewalks. Some students cut across the grass.
13. Students have to park far from their classrooms. They are often late for class.
14. Trash cans have been placed all over campus. Students still throw garbage on the ground.
15. The administration promised to improve dining hall service. The quality of the food is actually worse this year.
16. These students do not respect the feelings of others. They do seem to respect themselves.
17.We must stand up for our rights today. We may find ourselves with no rights at all.
Exercise #3
Make a single sentence from each of the groups of sentences below.You must include all of the information which is given, but you may change the form of any word or the arrangement of the sentences. You should delete redundant words or phrases, and you may add prepositions and conjunctions.
"Example":
l. The students were diligent.
2. The students followed their professor's instructions and carried out the lab.
3. The students wrote in their journals about their summer vacations.
4. The students wrote a spelling test every day before the exam.
"Single sentence": Diligently following their professor's instructions, the students wrote in their journals every day.
"Exercises":
A. l. We caught two bass.
2. We hauled them in briskly.
3. We hauled them in as though they were mackerel.
4. We pulled them over the side of the boat.
5. We did not use a landing net.
6. Our manner was businesslike.
7. We stunned them with a blow on the back of the head.
-- E.B. White
B. l. The doctor's eye roved across the landscape.
2. His eye detected a figure.
3. His eye was quick.
4. The figure was in black.
5. The figure passed through the gate.
6. The gate led to the field.
7. The gate led down toward the pond.
--D.H. Lawrence
C. l. Mrs. Lang saw herself as a counselor.
2. Mrs. Lang saw herself as wise and helpful.
3. She appeared on her neighbor's doorstep.
4. She appeared at the first hint of trouble.
5. She was armed with a treasure-trove of cliches.
6. She was armed with a repertory of sad looks.
7. She was armed with a jar of fig preserves.
D. l. Two men dozed.
2. The two men were young.
3. The two men were in the class.
4. They succumbed to fatigue.
5. They succumbed to boredom. 6. They succumbed to the stuffiness of the classroom.
7. The classroom was crowded.
8. They barely heard the voice of the instructor.
9. The instructor detailed with enthusiasm.
10. The instructor detailed the horrors of the Black Death.
E. l. There is a spider.
2. The spider is bulbous at the abdomen.
3. The spider is drab in color.
4. The spider is in the bathroom.
5. The spider has a web.
6. The web is six inches in diameter.
7. The web is in the corner.
8. The corner is behind the toilet.
9. The web is torn.
10. An earwig is trapped in the web.
11. Corpses are on the floor beneath the web.
12. The corpses are the spider's kill.
13. Most of the corpses are sow bugs.
14. Three of the corpses are spiders.
15. Two of the corpses are moths.
16. The moths' corpses are wingless.
-- Annie Dillard
F. l. He ran upstairs.
2. He took blankets from a bed.
3. He put blankets before the fire.
4. The blankets were warm.
5. Then he removed her clothing.
6. Her clothing was saturated.
7. Her clothing was earthy-smelling.
8. He rubbed her leg.
9. He rubbed her with a towel.
10. He wrapped her in the blanket.
11. She was naked.
-- D.H. Lawrence
G l. Then he motioned.
2. He motioned to the driver.
3. The driver was to go on.
4. The car moved slowly.
5. The car moved along.
6. The driver avoided holes.
7. The holes had been made by wart hogs.
8. The driver drove around the mud castles.
9. The mud castles had been built by ants.
-- Ernest Hemingway
H. l. Corporal Max Klinger is a character on "M.A.S.H."
2. "M.A.S.H." is a television series.
3. "M.A.S.H." is popular.
4. Corporal Klinger is aptly named.
5. He is named for a playwright.
6. The playwright is Maximilian Klinger.
7. Maximilian Klinger was a German.
8. Maximilian Klinger lived in the eighteenth century.
9. Maximilian Klinger wrote a play.
10. His play was entitled "Sturm und Drang."
11. "Sturm und Drang" means "Storm and Stress."
12. "Sturm und Drang" became the name of a movement.
13. The movement was literary.
14. The movement was "avant-garde."